Aya Brea
Aya Brea (アヤ・ブレア) is the protagonist of the Parasite Eve video game series. She is 25 in Parasite Eve, 27 in Parasite Eve II, and 38 in The 3rd Birthday. In The 3rd Birthday, she is voiced by Maaya Sakamoto in the Japanese version and Yvonne Strahovski in the English version. Biography Aya was born in Boston, Massachusetts on November 20, 1972. She is of mixed ethnicity; her father whose name is unrevealed is a journalist, is Caucasian while her mother who is known as Mariko was Japanese. This gives her a unique appearance as she boasts many Asian facial features, such as the shape of her face and eyes, while possessing blue eyes and fair blonde hair. Aya was born with an eye defect. She had a sister named Maya who, along with her mother, died in an automobile accident when Aya was only five years old. After the loss of her sister and mother, Aya was put into many different foster homes. Maya's organs were preserved, which allowed for one of her corneas to be transplanted into Aya. At the same time, one of Maya's kidneys was transplanted into a young girl named Melissa Pearce. Unknown to any of the doctors, Maya Brea's mitochondria were highly evolved and began changing Aya and Melissa's genetic structure. As a young woman, Aya studied criminology at the University of Virginia between 1992-1994, and was involved in their ROTC program, but any record of military service is never mentioned within the game. She later became a police officer for the NYPD and worked for three years between 1995-1998. Within the first six months of working at NYPD's 17th precinct, Aya became involved in an incident known as the New York Blockade Incident to the general public. As an officer, she became part of the "father and daughter" team where she was partnered up with Daniel "Bo" Dollis, a veteran cop, who can be considered overly protective of her at worst. http://na.square-enix.com/games/pe/aya.html Appearances Parasite Eve On December 24, 1997, Aya attended an opera performance at Carnegie Hall with her date (whose name is never mentioned), which starred Melissa Pearce as the lead. During the performance, Maya's advanced mitochondria, which had lain dormant in Melissa for eleven years, awakened and transformed her into Mitochondria Eve. As her first act against humankind, Eve killed everyone in Carnegie Hall via spontaneous human combustion, except for Aya who was immune to the effect. Aya instead gained Parasite Energy. During the next six days, Aya fought Eve and the creatures she spawned, known as Neo-Mitochondrial Creatures or NMCs, all across Manhattan, greatly assisted by the incredible powers she started to exhibit. Aya would later discover that she was granted great power due to the fact that she possessed Maya's mitochondria (transferred to her body during the corneal transplant), but it was unable to take control of her as it did Melissa because of Aya's evolved cell nuclei. She also experienced her sister's final memory about the hospital. Aya fought and destroyed a strain of rapidly evolving mitochondria that threatened to enslave all humanity. Eventually, Aya engaged Eve in a showdown on Liberty Island, in which Eve was killed. After this however, she had to destroy the Ultimate Being, that Eve gave birth to. After an ongoing battle between her humanity and evolution, Aya successfully managed to destroy the creature with a little help from Daniel and Kunihiko Maeda (a Japanese scientist assisting them with advice in these matters). She soon became a hero among the government ranks for her courageous acts while few civilians are aware of the details of the event. After the events in the game transpire, she, along with her friends try to make up for a lost Christmas by going to the opera at Carnegie Hall once again. During this time, Aya communicates with the entire audience's mitochondria and their eyes begin to glow a pinkish red. The meaning behind this ending is debated by many players. Some say that this is what Eve meant when she told Aya: "The more you use those powers, the more you become like me." This leads up to this ending possibly being non-canonical, where if the player plays through the Chrysler Building and defeats the Purebred Eve, Aya will lose her mitochondrial powers (albeit gaining newer, less superior ones leading up to the sequel) thus, saving the audience as well as all of mankind once again. Parasite Eve II A few months after Eve's rampage in New York City, Aya left the force and joined a newly-formed branch of the FBI known as the Mitochondrion Investigation and Suppression Team or MIST. The purpose of MIST, based out of Los Angeles, is to hunt down and destroy any remaining NMCs.http://na.square-enix.com/games/PE2/characters.html During her time as a MIST Agent, Aya had always worked alone due to the abnormality of her powers. "I try not to show others my mitochondrial powers. I can see the fear in their eyes." Another fact worth noting is that due to her awakened mitochondria in her cells, Aya appears younger than her biological age. Despite having this as a benefit, Aya would be happier just living one normal life rather than living into another century beyond the 21st. It is also revealed that she doesn't drink, and that she hasn't slept well ever since the New York blockade incident. She described her dreams to Pierce that she always dreamed about Maya asking for her help, during which the former was surprised to hear that she had a sister, implying that nobody knew she had one. In early September of 2000, Aya was following a lead to a tiny town called Dryfield in the Mojave Desert where she met a 29-year-old P.I. from Texas called Kyle Madigan (who she formed a partnership with). With Kyle's co-operation, Aya soon discovered a strange shadow government facility called Neo-Ark where scientists were using Aya's DNA to breed a race of Artificial Neo-Mitochondrial Creatures. To control the ANMCs, the Neo-Ark directors brainwashed a young girl named Eve, a clone of Aya. Given Eve's age and various clues in the game, Eve is thought to be a clone that ages rapidly, considering she looks 10 years old and was cloned after Aya's mitochondria was awakened in 1997. Two more disturbing theories which have been put forward are that Eve is actually a clone of Maya Brea or possibly a clone of Aya made before Aya's mitochondria awakened, thus suggesting the shadow government knew about Aya's potential. After discovering that Eve, as well as the ANMCs were all made from her, she felt obligated to "finish what she started" and once again, save humanity from an ominous fate which was ultimately the cause of her own physical existence. After the destruction of the Neo-Ark facility, as well as her "struggle" having finally ended, Aya left MIST, any documents containing information regarding the NMCs were disposed of by the US Government, she took the young Eve in, forming a motherly/sisterly bond with her, and thanks to one of her friends in MIST, Rupert Broderick, pulled some strings and created a profile for Eve saying that she's Aya's sister, no questions asked. Aya's boss, Eric Baldwin was discovered to be a mole for the shadow government and was ultimately locked behind bars for treason courtesy of Aya learning so from another one of her friends, Pierce Carradine. Baldwin's place leading MIST was taken by Rupert Broderick following the inside investigation. Kyle Madigan (who disappeared after the Neo Ark events) meets with Aya and Eve in N.Y, and it is hinted that both Aya and Kyle are getting involved in a romantic relationship. The 3rd Birthday Aya and Kyle were planned to be wed on December 24th, 2010, which is known in the game as Time Zero. However, before they could exchange vows, a group of SWAT members broke into the church and shot her and Kyle. Kyle Madigan survived the gunfire and was hospitalized. Eve, desperate to save Aya, switched bodies through her mitochondria powers, which resulted in "Overdive" being born. When Overdiving, however, Aya's soul/consciousness was destroyed and reborn as the Twisted. Without a consciousness in Eve's body, Eve had been pronounced as dead which is why Kyle later states, "...Eve is dead." The death of Eve's body resulted in the creation of the "High Ones". With Eve's consciousness in Aya's body, Hyde Bohr found Eve lying in the front of Saint Thomas Church. Eve had forgotten all of her memories, and for the next 3 years, Eve assumed the identity of Aya Brea. Eve joined the Counter Twisted Investigation in order to fight against the Twisted. With her memories gone, Kyle simply assumed that Aya was suffering from amnesia, not knowing that "Aya" was truly Eve. In the end of the game, Eve returns to Time Zero, back in her own body. Aya appears and tells Eve to shoot her. Aya and Eve Overdive and switch consciousnesses and Eve (as Aya) kills Aya (in Eve's body). When Aya is shot, she can be heard saying what sounds like "I won't disappear." Eve is now permanently in Aya's body, as Aya's consciousness and Eve's body have, apparently, been removed from the timeline. Eve realizes that Aya has sacrificed her own life in order to prevent the creation of the Twisted, thus saving humanity one last time. During the secret ending of The 3rd Birthday, a blond woman with a hair style similar to Aya's walks by Eve in the middle of a snow-filled street. She wishes Eve a happy birthday, remarking that it's her fourth, before disappearing into thin air as Eve searches around wildly. It could have been Aya's voice and Eve's subconscious mind just imagining her, Aya making a final appearance by taking over someone's body or simply all part of Eve's imagination. Is it notable that the woman is taller than Eve, even when she's in Aya's body. Appearance Being of Asian and Caucasian descent, Aya displays features from both her Japanese mother and her American father, with her narrow eyes and facial structure in contrast to her blue eyes and platinum blonde hair. After the events of Parasite Eve, Aya's hair is noticeably shorter. While on occasion she isn’t too timid to dress in anything fancy, Aya has a casual, modest manner of attire. This is mostly due to the fact that it’s not practical to enter the field in shorts, skirts, and dresses (unless circumstances catch her by surprise). For the most part she dresses fairly simple and her casual attire consists of either black or white tee-shirts, and jeans. In colder weather, she tends to dress in her leather or jean jacket. Aya is attractive, though she never uses sexuality to an advantage. Instead she relies on her cocky personality when dealing with people. She is lithe in figure, but not frail; she is fairly agile, and while she’s not exactly super strong enough to lift monoliths, she is by no means weak, either. In The 3rd Birthday, Aya appears much younger because her mitochondria awakened at twenty-five. She looks as though she has not aged a day since, and could very well possibly be considered ageless due to her awakened genes. Personality Aya tends to be pretty sarcastic, cold, and brooding, though she isn’t without a sense of humor. It can be said that she fits more into the “deadpan snarker” category. It doesn’t help that Aya has a bad habit of not being able to take people seriously sometimes, particularly when they express any sort of interest in her; she tends to brush them off. It’s easier for her to pretend that people are just being insincere most of the time. In any case, she prefers to keep things professional — mostly where a professional relationship is concerned such as her line of work, and very rarely does she ever like to get herself involved in any intimate affairs. Surprisingly, however, she can be pretty patient. It’s just that when her patience finally runs thin that she has a danger of losing her temper, going against that professionalism and letting her thoughts and emotions get ahead of her. Aya can be gentle and nurturing, almost maternal — especially with children. She does like kids, regardless of the fact that she’s never had any herself and she treats Eve Brea in a caring, motherly manner. She approaches with a welcoming nature to most people. She’s often self-sacrificing. This could be considered her greatest strength or weakness, as she has a penchant for putting the wants and needs of others before her own wants and needs. If someone is in danger, she can be pretty compulsive without always thinking things through. For instance, while working for MIST she developed this track record for acting recklessly and going against orders. There is one thing that she is not proud of: the guilt that weighs down on her. This is most likely the result of various incidents: her surviving the car accident that killed both her mother and her sister and being the sole survivor of the opera massacre that led into the New York Blockade Incident. As well, fighter pilots acted as a shield for Aya so that she would live to fight against Eve. One could very well interpret Aya’s inclination for self-sacrifice as a product of her survivor’s guilt. Aya dislikes it when people put themselves on the line for her, no matter how inevitable it is. Aya feels somewhat alienated, being so different from everyone else with her superhuman mitochondria abilities. At times, she considers herself a monster; fearing of becoming the monster that Eve said she would be, and the fear of hurting the people she loves follows her. For that reason, and the fact that her Parasite Energy had a way of making the people around her uncomfortable, Aya doesn’t make a habit out of using her powers in front of other people. Theme Aya Brea's musical theme is composed by Yoko Shimomura. It contains strong piano, with an influence of techno and electronica. The theme conveys Aya Brea's inner struggle between herself and the rest of the world. Trivia *Aya made a cameo appearance in Chocobo Racing as a hidden character in which she uses a police car as her vehicle. *Aya can wear the attire of Lightning, the main protagonist of Final Fantasy XIII, in The 3rd Birthday. In addition, Lightning can wear Aya's clothing as a second alternate costume in [http://finalfantasy.wikia.com/wiki/Dissidia_012_Final_Fantasy Dissidia 012 Final Fantasy]. This outfit in Japan is exclusive to swapping game codes and use of the Square Enix website, in the English version it simply has to be unlocked by meeting the requirements. *In the Japanese version of The 3rd Birthday, Aya's voice varies depending on her selected outfit. *Aya is 5'3" (160cm). *There is a continuity error in The 3rd Birthday; Aya Brea was born November 20th 1972 but in The 3rd Birthday files, it states that she was born November 20th 1973. *Aya can wield Squall Leonhart's Gunblade from Final Fantasy VIII in Parasite Eve II. Notes See also * Outfits — A look at Aya's various outfits throughout the entire series. Gallery Category:Characters Category:Parasite Eve characters Category:Parasite Eve II characters Category:The 3rd Birthday characters Category:Deceased characters